Gay HO!

While the whole Section 377 debate rages all around in India, here are 2 very positive and affirmative messages from 2 very different quarters.

The first one is from Amul (Click Image to Enlarge)

This appeared in their Hits section, where they post cartoons on contemporary issues. Always positive. Thank you Amul! You indeed add a positive flavor in our lives.

The 2nd one is from Savita Bhabhi (Click Image to Enlarge)

I hope the ban on Savita Bhabhi is lifted soon and she's back to being her naughty self soon.

[Posted recently on the GB mailing list]

The Delhi High Court Verdict on Section 377

Here is the conclusion of the Delhi High Court Verdict taken from the 105 page Verdict.

The notion of equality in the Indian Constitution flows from the ‘Objective Resolution’ moved by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru on December 13, 1946. Nehru, in his speech, moving this Resolution wished that the House should consider the Resolution not in a spirit of narrow legal wording, but rather look at the spirit behind that Resolution. He said, ”Words are magic things often enough, but even the magic of words sometimes cannot convey the magic of the human spirit and of a Nation’s passion…….. (The Resolution) seeks very feebly to tell the world of what we have thought or dreamt of so long, and what we now hope to achieve in the near future.” [Constituent Assembly Debates: Lok Sabha Secretariat, New Delhi: 1999, Vol. I, pages 57-65].

If there is one constitutional tenet that can be said to be underlying theme of the Indian Constitution, it is that of 'inclusiveness'. This Court believes that Indian Constitution reflects this value deeply ingrained in Indian society, nurtured over several generations. The inclusiveness that Indian society traditionally displayed, literally in every aspect of life, is manifest in recognising a role in society for everyone. Those perceived by the majority as “deviants' or 'different' are not on that score excluded or ostracised.

Where society can display inclusiveness and understanding, such persons can be assured of a life of dignity and nondiscrimination. This was the 'spirit behind the Resolution' of which Nehru spoke so passionately. In our view, Indian Constitutional law does not permit the statutory criminal law to be held captive by the popular misconceptions of who the LGBTs are. It cannot be forgotten that discrimination is antithesis of equality and that it is the recognition of equality which will foster the dignity of every individual.

We declare that Section 377 IPC, insofar it criminalises consensual sexual acts of adults in private, is violative of Articles 21, 14 and 15 of the Constitution. The provisions of Section 377 IPC will continue to govern non-consensual penile non-vaginal sex and penile non-vaginal sex involving minors. By 'adult' we mean everyone who is 18 years of age and above. A person below 18 would be presumed not to be able to consent to a sexual act. This clarification will hold till, of course, Parliament chooses to amend the law to effectuate the recommendation of the Law Commission of India in its 172nd Report which we believe removes a great deal of confusion. Secondly, we clarify that our judgment will not result in the re-opening of criminal cases involving Section 377 IPC that have already attained finality.

We allow the writ petition in the above terms.
CHIEF JUSTICE
JULY 2, 2009 S.MURALIDHAR, J

Section 377 is Dead!!!

Yes! We did it. This is a historic moment for the gay community in India. The Delhi High Court has given its verdict and it is in our favor.

Homosexuality has been decriminalized in India

Congratulations Gay India.

Thank you all the people who were directly or indirectly involved in this fight.

Even though we have a long way to go, this is still a big moment. The verdict is surely going to be appealed and another lengthy fight lies in front of us but nothing can stop us from savoring this glorious moment.

Section 377 has been read down and consensual adult sex is no longer illegal.

Congratulations from OhMojo.com

Section 377 Judgement tomorrow!

This just in. The moment is here. The judgement on the repeal of Section 377 will most likely be read out in the Delhi High Court tomorrow, July 2nd 2009 at 10:30 AM.

This is the moment everyone has been waiting for. Most of the people who were involved in the case are cautiously optimistic.

A gathering has been scheduled at Jantar Mantar, Delhi 4 PM. If the judgement is in favor of a repeal of Section 377, there will be celebrations. If it is against then there will be protests. Everyone is invited to join in for this historic moment.

Keep your fingers crossed guys. I hope this goes the right way.

Die Section 377 Die

That's the thought that comes to my mind when I think about Section 377. The recent flurry of activity surrounding it was most interesting to watch. The fact that it coincided with the Pride Marches held in various cities across India gave the media additional reason to cover it widely.

First there was news that the government wants 377 to go. Then we got to know that a meeting of the law minister, the health minister and the home minister has been scheduled along with the home ministers of the states to discuss 377. It is interesting to note that while most media organizations covered this news, none reported a date for this meeting or whether the government has in fact finalized one.

While the gay community was just about recovering from this "excellent" news, the media started reporting how the views of various religious organizations were also sought by the government. Why? We do not know, but as expected, all of them are against the repeal of 377.

That was bad enough, but to add insult to injury, news came along that while home minister P. Chidambaram and law minister Veerappa Moily are in favor of a repeal, health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad is not. Mr. Health Minister has apparently taken a stand totally opposite to his predecessor Dr. Anbumani Ramadoss.

Is this really surprising? Were we delusional enough to even start thinking that the government might want to go against the popular opinion, which in this case is definitely against what we are hoping for? So what was the need for the home minister to go into overdrive with regards to 377? Why the sudden need to take it up when they have been trying to push it under the carpet for the past several years?

Could it be that they want to take a decision before the Delhi High Court reaches a verdict? Could it be that they want to keep matters in their own hands instead of letting the judiciary go with the right way which will not exactly be the popular way? Does this mean the gay community India needs to brace itself to continue living a life of discrimination, rejection and outright hatred from our society?  A life without any hope?

Or could this recent flurry of activities be headed in the other direction? With a progressive woman heading the ruling party, could there be just a tiniest bit of hope for us? With a progressive and young PM-in-waiting Rahul Gandhi learning the ropes and readying himself for that gaddi, is it possible that he might tip the scale in our favor? He's almost 40 years old and unmarried so it is just possible that he actually might be in our camp and might be all for a repeal of Section 377?

Pipedream? Probably. The gay community in India better start preparing for the long haul. With politicians, politics is certainly going to happen and there are wheels within wheels.  We just do not know which direction those wheels might turn. I'll keep on praying that Section 377 dies soon enough but I'll not raise my expectations to avoid any disappointment and frustration.

Section 377 Used - Times of India FrontPage News

Today's Times Of India's Bombay edition has this story about a wife taking her husband to court for being gay and having homosexual relationships. This news got FrontPage billing bringing the whole Section 377 debate to the forefront. Looks like the police are or will be using Section 377 to prosecute the guy.

While I'll not get into the whole infidelity debate, its good to know that TOI has always been positive as far tolerance and education about homosexuality is concerned. The coverage of this news items looks balanced and they have positively mentioned the Bombay High Court's observation some time back that "There are lots of changes taking place in the social milieu and many people have different sexual preferences, which are not even considered to be unnatural’’. The current PIL against Section 377 in the Delhi High Court has also been mentioned. In that case the arguments are over, the bench has heard all the sides and a judgement is awaited any time now. The bench was very positive throughout the proceedings but that does not mean the judgement will definitely be on our side. Time will tell what happens but one thing is for sure, the judgement will have great repercussions throughout the country.

Lets hope it goes our way and gay guys in India get to see the first step towards elimination of discrimination based on sexuality.

Here's the full story from the Times of India:

Gay businessman taken to court by wife

Mumbai: A sessions court at Fort has been busy hearing an unusual matter—a wealthy businessman and a sailor with the merchant navy have had to plead for protection from arrest after the wife of the former alleged that the duo was in a homosexual relationship. The Gamdevi police even registered a case under Section 377 of the IPC—the law that criminalises homosexual relations—against the two.

Ratan Shrivastav, 39, a resident of Peddar Road, and his wife Pooja, 37, got married in 1994 and have an eight-year-old son. Pooja, however, alleges that Ratan “kept having relationships with several men’’ which was “hampering her married life’’. She also said that she had often sent Ratan to a counsellor but that did not improve their marital relations. The complaint also says that there are CDs in which Ratan can be seen in a compromising position with other men.

In his anticipatory bail plea, Ratan did not deny that he was gay. He said he first went to the cops in January when he was told that a non-cognisable complaint had been registered against him for slapping Pooja.

‘RELOOK NEEDED’ 
Last year, the Bombay HC said that the controversial Section 377 of the IPC that deals with ‘unnatural sex’ needed a relook. “There are lots of changes taking place in the social milieu and many people have different sexual preferences, which are not even considered to be unnatural,’’ said the judgment in the Anchorage paedophilia case

Mum unaware of son’s homosexual relations
Mumbai: Peddar Road businessman Ratan Shrivastav and his sailor friend moved the court for anticipatory bail after Ratan’s wife lodged a noncognisable complaint against them at Gamdevi police station. Thereafter, a police constable even came to his residence on February 9 and asked his mother whether Ratan was a homosexual. His mother replied that it was his personal matter and she had no knowledge of it.

Ratan moved court on February 27 when he realised that on a specific complaint by Pooja the police had registered a case under Section 377 against him and his alleged partner, Damien Christopher, 28, the sailor. Ratan feared that he was going to be arrested for custodial interrogation since homosexuality remains a cognizable offence under Indian law. He thus rushed to court for protection and the same day was granted interim anticipatory bail till March 7.

On Thursday, the court heard the anticipatory bail plea of Christopher. Judge D U Mulla wondered whether there was any need for custody in such matters. He observed that there was no evidence that Pooja had been harassed or whether police needed to collect any material evidence. The court granted anticipatory bail to Christopher. Ratan’s own plea will come up for hearing again on Saturday.

(Names have been changed to protect the identities of the parties involved)

GAY ACTIVISM
Gay rights activists have filed a PIL in the Delhi HC seeking exclusion of consensual homosexual activity from the ambit of an offence